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Sunday, March 14, 2010

Top 10 Drone/Ambient of 2009

I did this for the 2005 set of lists. And since the last couple of months have focused on this type of thing - why not? Here are the sometimes-ambient, sometimes-droney, sometimes-"other" musics that I find worth mentioning right at this moment. By the end of the list, we're pretty clearly off the true drone/ambient axis. But "close enough," says I! Album title links take you to some kind of Headspace post on that release.

Nice little collection of 28 short set-pieces in the vein of Italian and/or horror soundtracks, as so many are doing these days. Sort of. They've got their own traditional take that differs from either Zombi or The Giallos Flame. Not quite in those realms, but maybe a good intro point to Secret Chiefs 3.

I'd totally forgotten I even had this, until I checked out Vinal Edge's 2009 list. Something else must have drawn my attention at the time - it happens... This is much noisier, Krautier, and guitar-oriented than I remember. They've released a couple things more recently, and now I'm thinking about it.

I took a flier on this because of Boomkat's big sale - excellent deal! My regional identification enhances the weirdness of New Mexican dronework. My interest in Black Metal means I'm a sucker for mixing ambient music with those concepts. But this album stands on its own, with the haunted vibe of a decayed and destroyed desert landscape.

On the Floydian coordinates of the space-drone universe, with a good balance between direct sonics and deep exploration. I like guitars, and nothing else around here is nearly so guitar-based. Especially good for the inevitable zone-out.

Quite unexpected, innit? The songs (few as they are) ring with a particular classic '60s feel. The interludes range from the spooky to the trippy, always shifting like ghostly fluorescent shadows in a carnival sideshow held in a decrepit Victorian mansion. On a lonely high cliff, under the full blood moon.

Crazy, possibly Christian, hodge-podge of rustic cabin-fever visions. The band name is apt - conjuring a separate world, green and leafy... with monsters lurking. Full post coming up, this one's different.

I never really liked what I heard from Denton's Pyramids. Sure, it was weird. But nothing that made me dig deeper. I've liked most of the Nadja I've heard (#16 of the 2009 Metal Next 10), and will probably like more when I hear that. But this mostly doesn't sound much like either band on their own. Four looong tracks that cover almost everything: quiet, heavy, voices, beats, ambience, drone. Takes some focus to really listen, but worth it. Full post coming, most likely.

I like this album more than perhaps makes sense. So much, that I immediately ordered a couple more after getting it. Looped and rhythmic, with vocals and electronics, but a ton of treated guitars. I hear what others apparently get from Animal Collective's last one. Mesmerizing.

Similar thing as with New Clouds: after being blown away, I immediately started tracking down more. This one was clearly labeled a change of pace, tending more towards digestible "songs." One of the great finds of the new year so far!! You can read more in this Disquiet MP3 Discussion Group discussion. Also note that Type Records provides unlimited Soundcloud streaming for all their records (if you're not into Lala) - so check the "Stream via..." links for both this and Wm. Fowler Collins (#8).